Minims can turn a short historical word into one of the hardest parts of a manuscript line. A number of characters are formed by similar vertical lines in different scribal styles. These characters include i, m, n, and u. Without sufficient separating lines or with inadequate spacing between the characters, groups of them can easily appear as unbroken rows of identical characters. To solve the problem, do not simply count the vertical lines and guess a common word. Instead, carefully examine the initial, connecting, and final strokes of the letters in question.
Identify a single clear example of the word to be deciphered and zoom in on the text until individual details in the pen strokes remain distinguishable and sharp. Follow the line of characters from left to right either with your eyes or with a pencil hovering just above the page. Observe each initial stroke, vertical stroke, connecting stroke, and terminal stroke. Write down an accurate representation of the characters without yet assigning any letters to them. Writing down the strokes first will isolate your observations from your interpretations, resulting in a better record of what is visible in the manuscript.
Pay particular attention to the initial and terminal strokes of the word in question, as they may reveal the most about each letter. For instance, the letter m can start very differently from the letter n or the letter u. The letter m can also end with a longer terminal stroke that reaches over towards the next letter. Do any of the vertical strokes rise above or drop below the other characters in the word? Is there a dot or other mark above any of the characters? Such features may hint at an i character, but the position of the dot may be ambiguous or missing. Treat these features as clues rather than definitive evidence.
Look for similar examples within the same page or folio. Find a confirmed word containing m, n, u, or i and compare its rhythm with the uncertain group. How many clear vertical strokes does the scribe use when writing the letter m? Are the humps rounded or pointed? How does the scribe write the letter u? Create a set of reference characters from this document that includes words, not merely the individual letters used in the Latin alphabet.
Once the individual characters in the example have been identified, try using the context of the example to help determine the correct reading. This could include knowing what type of word to expect, such as a name, date, title, or part of a recurring phrase. However, the context should be used to verify the evidence from the characters, not to substitute for it. If the context supports more than one possible reading of the example, you should note all of them in your transcription. Note the fact that you were unsure which was the correct reading of the example. Keep in mind that the original spelling may differ considerably from our modern spellings, leading to unfamiliar forms. Therefore, the context does not support rejecting a reading solely because the word looks strange.
As you improve at reading words made from minims, you will notice that the group of characters does not look quite like a series of identical vertical lines anymore. You will be able to identify where one letter ends and another begins. You will also understand which connecting strokes belong together. The word may still need to be reviewed and compared with others, but you can now make choices based on physical characteristics in the example itself, instead of only relying on your expectations from the rest of the sentence.
